


Midnight Stroll

by animeangelriku



Series: Puzzleshipping Advent [2]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Atem is afraid of the dark, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Nightmares, Winter, Yugi is the best boyfriend in the world, and he also loves the snow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-03
Updated: 2017-12-03
Packaged: 2019-02-10 01:13:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12900807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/animeangelriku/pseuds/animeangelriku
Summary: After Atem has a nightmare, Yugi suggests they go out onto the snow-covered streets of Domino City for a walk.





	Midnight Stroll

**Author's Note:**

> Had a bit of trouble writing this one, and I'm still not entirely convinced about it, but I did the best I could and so now it's time to set it free.
> 
> You can also read this on my [Tumblr!](http://animeangelriku.tumblr.com/post/168143423642/puzzleshipping-midnight-stroll)

Yugi knows that something is wrong as soon as he opens his eyes.

It’s not morning yet, but Atem is awake anyway, sitting down at the chair of Yugi’s desk and hugging his knees to his chest. The small, plastic Kuriboh nightlight that Yugi gave him for his birthday a few months ago is turned on, casting a yellowish glow over Atem’s face as he watches it intently, like he’s waiting for it to spontaneously combust. 

Or like it’s the only thing that Atem can stand to look at right now. 

Yugi sits up on the bed, rubbing the sleep off his eyes. Atem glances at him for only a second before he turns his gaze back to the Kuriboh nightlight. 

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” he says softly.

“You didn’t,” Yugi says. What’s palpable enough to wake Yugi up is not Atem’s absence _per se_ , not really—it’s his quiet uneasiness and his anxiety. It’s the way Yugi can practically hear his thoughts and feel how overwhelming they are. He and Atem cannot communicate through their mind link anymore, at least not in the same way they used to, but there are still remnants of the bond they created through the Millennium Puzzle in both of them. 

“Are you okay?” Yugi asks, his voice quiet. It’s the best thing he can do for now. 

Atem doesn’t answer immediately. Then he sighs and mumbles, “No.”

“A nightmare?”

Atem only nods in response. He hugs his knees closer to himself, and suddenly he looks so small on Yugi’s chair. It’s a shocking, almost painful reminder to Yugi that, despite how mature and courageous he knows Atem is, and despite everything he has lived through and sacrificed, he’s only sixteen. 

Yugi turns his body towards Atem. “Do you want to talk about it?” 

“No,” Atem answers, shaking his head. “No.” 

There aren’t many things Yugi can do after Atem has had a nightmare that he doesn’t want to talk about. What he _can_ do, though, is hold his arms open and clear his throat to get Atem’s attention. Thankfully, the small sound is loud enough in the quietness of their room, and Atem finally turns to him. His expression softens, his body relaxes, if only slightly, and then he gets up from the chair and climbs back into their bed, into Yugi’s embrace. 

He wraps his arms around Yugi and Yugi pulls him as close as he possibly can. He pets Atem’s hair and kisses the top of his head and his temples and he rubs his back with his hand and he lets his lips rest on the shell of Atem’s ear, murmuring, “You’re safe, Atem. You’re here with me. You’re safe and you’re here with me.” 

Atem takes a deep breath, holds it in for a few seconds, and then slowly exhales through his mouth, repeating the process until he stops shaking against Yugi. 

“How do you feel?” Yugi asks, continuing to rub Atem’s back. 

“Better,” Atem responds, leaning his chin on Yugi’s shoulder. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Yugi says. He knows that there are still some fears Atem isn’t willing to talk about, and he knows it’s not because he doesn’t trust him. They are both still making progress, still working together, and Yugi is more than content to be able to give him his support and his love and his affection. 

A glance at the clock on the wall tells Yugi that it’s still quite a few hours until sunrise, and neither of them seems eager to go back to sleep. 

“Hey,” he starts, remembering the snow that has been falling for the last couple of days over Domino City and remembering how much Atem has been awestruck by it. “Want to go for a midnight stroll?”

Atem pulls slightly away from him, only enough to look him in the eyes. Yugi is ridiculously relieved by the small smile he sees curling Atem’s lips upwards. “Really?” he asks, but his eyes are already sparkling.

Yugi grins at him and nods his head. 

Ten minutes later, they quietly make their way down to the entrance of the game shop, dressed in proper attire for the weather they’re about to face: coats and gloves and scarves and snow boots, and even some thermal earmuffs for Atem. The last thing they want is for Mom to wake up and tell them that they’re going to catch a cold if they go out at this hour, but to their relief, they successfully exit the shop without waking either Mom or Grandpa. After sharing a conspiratorial glance, they both start walking, with no care about which direction they’re heading in. 

The street and the lampposts are covered in snow, and it’s only now that they’re outside that they realize how incredibly cold it is. Atem’s hand reaches for his at the same time as Yugi’s reaches for his, and their glove-covered fingers entwine together automatically as they move closer to each other until there is no more space between their shoulders. 

“It’s so peaceful,” Atem murmurs, his breath coming out as a puff of air in front of him. Yugi notices how different his voice sounds now to how it sounded earlier: the softness is still there, but now it’s coming from wonder and tranquility rather than worry or anxiety or guilt.

He’s in the middle of saying, “It is, isn’t it?” when Yugi feels a snowflake fall on his nose. Then another one falls on Atem’s cheek, and then another one falls on his hair, and then the two of them tilt their heads up to the sky. 

It’s starting to snow, and Yugi turns to Atem just in time to see his eyes widen in amazement and his lips form the shape of an “o.” Then a joyful, almost childishly giddy grin overcomes his mouth, and he laughs in disbelief.

“ _Aibou_ ,” Atem whispers into the calmness of the night around them. Yugi’s heart flutters at the old nickname, at Atem’s voice whispering it like it’s a secret, like they’re the only ones allowed to hear it. “ _Aibou_ , look.”

Yugi looks at Atem instead. 

He looks at Atem’s eyes, wide open and focused entirely on the snow falling from above. He looks at Atem’s mouth, at the giddy, honest grin still on his face. He looks at the way Atem’s standing, at the curve of his spine and at his head thrown practically all the way back. He looks at Atem standing in all his glory right next to him, grinning and flushed from the cold and finding such immense joy in something as apparently simple as snow falling on top of them and Yugi… 

Gods, Yugi could just stare at him forever. 

When Atem turns his head to him, there’s such gratitude, such adoration and love in his eyes that Yugi’s breath catches in his throat. Atem’s fingers let go of his hand, but it’s only so that he can wrap his arms around Yugi, and Yugi’s arms immediately circle Atem’s waist and they tug each other closer so fast that their foreheads smack together, making them wince in pain and laugh at the same time. Yugi will never get tired of hearing Atem laugh, and he’ll spend the rest of his days doing whatever it takes to keep hearing that sound, to keep seeing Atem’s eyes fill with wonder and amazement, to keep making him smile that unguarded, warm, and completely honest smile he adores so much. He’ll do whatever it takes to chase Atem’s nightmares away, to ease his worries and his fears, and if that means getting out of bed in the middle of the night to take a walk through the city every single night, he will gladly repeat this, as many times as Atem needs him to. 

Even though it’s getting late and the snow is starting to fall a little harder and they’ll probably catch a cold if they don’t go back home soon, Yugi does not move an inch, not wanting to break away from Atem. To his relief, Atem makes no move to pull away from him, either.

_Good_ , Yugi thinks. There’s no other place he’d rather be.

**Author's Note:**

> Listen, I love Atem admiring and fiercely loving Yugi and thinking he's the most wonderful person in the entire world, but if you think that Yugi isn't _exactly_ the same about Atem, I will _fight you_.


End file.
